Falling in Love
by Wackysocks
Summary: Several years after her trip through the Labyrinth, Sarah is sent back for a second time against her will. Does it change her? Does it mark a beginning, or an end?
1. Growing Up

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 1: Growing Up

A persistent beeping noise invaded the recesses of Sarah's mind, pulling her out of sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking against the sunlight streaming in through her window, and turned her head to look at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It beeped morosely, its digital red numbers glaring balefully at her – _7:00 AM_. Sarah closed her eyes in disgust, switched it to off, and rolled back over. Her mind, still flushed with sleep, had nearly fallen back into its previous dream state when something tickled her nose.

And tickled again.

And with a violent sneeze, Sarah's brain was jolted fully awake – the chance to fall back asleep long gone.

Sarah rubbed her eyes, pulled herself up to a sitting position, and yawned. Looking down, she saw the little culprit that had caused her sneeze – a small, red and orange feather.

In spite of herself, Sarah smiled. With the amount of head throwing and limb whacking that the Fire Gang did on a regular basis, it was no wonder that a few feathers fell off here and there. Sarah looked around the rest of the room to survey the damage. Papers, globs of silly string, confetti, and various stuffed animals were scattered all over her room. Someone had found her pencil box, pulled out the red pencil, and drawn all over her poster of Escher's _Relativity_. And yet another someone had ripped a hole in her bedspread.

But Sarah couldn't be mad. It had been such a wonderful celebration. A hello and a goodbye of sorts. A hello to the friends she had made even as she said goodbye to their world. But mostly a hello to adulthood and a goodbye to the childhood she had stayed in for so long. She wasn't quite an adult yet, and wouldn't be for a while. But the child she had persisted in being when other girls her age were going to dances and giggling about boys had, in that thirteen-hour period that took up four hours of her life, quietly and gracefully departed.

This quiet mental shift began manifesting itself that very Saturday morning. Sarah used the morning hours that she didn't get to sleep in to begin the cleanup that turned into a complete overhaul of her room. Fire Gang feathers, silly string gobs and pieces of confetti were not the only things thrown into the garbage that day. Small figurines, her now-ruined _Relativity_ poster, and random small sparkly things were also thrown out – their appeal lost overnight with the departure of the child who lived the fairy stories she read with so much heart.

Karen was shocked when Sarah asked her for help that day. It was as if the rebellious child had disappeared overnight, and Karen could hardly believe her ears when Sarah greeted her with a "good morning" and then asked if Karen and her father would help her with a project.

That project lasted a full month and a half. While Karen's father spent a full weekend painting Sarah's walls a soft green color, Karen took Sarah shopping. A new bedspread and pillows, and a new, more mature birch desk were moved in to the room. A poster of Monet's water lilies soon occupied the same space that _Relativity_ had only three weeks beforehand. Boxes and boxes of storybooks, stuffed animals, figurines, random mythical objects were donated, save for one box that Sarah put on the highest shelf in her closet. By Toby's first birthday, one could hardly tell that anything of the old room remained.

And Sarah herself had changed. Oh, she still loved fairy stories, to be sure! But it was her view of them that was different. Where before, they had been something utterly real – something to be lived out to the fullest, now they were just stories. Bedtime stories for Toby or for the neighbor children that she started babysitting for regularly. Stories that she read when she wanted to tune out from life. Collections of wonderful ideas and characters and emotions that stayed imaginary. She thought of them with fondness, as one might think of a favorite childhood pastime that has not lost its charm in memory, but has lost its appeal for play.

As time passed and Sarah grew older, she called her friends through the mirror less and less. In her fifteenth year, she had called them no less than seven times. She exclaimed over new activities at school, excitedly shared her newly made-over room with them, and told them of the obnoxious boy in her class that made fun of her for oh-so-trivial things. Hoggle asked her what volleyball was, Ludo tried to hide his great confusion about her activities with exclamations of "Sawah fweeennndd," and Sir Didymus threatened to fight the obnoxious boy in a battle to the death.

In her sixteenth year, she called them four times. She told them about how Toby was talking more and more, and how the same obnoxious boy at school had laughed when she had tripped on the volleyball court. Hoggle asked her about her school, Ludo smiled and "aahhhhhed" when she hugged him, and Sir Didymus told her that he would never give the obnoxious boy permission to cross the newly-built bridge over the Bog of Eternal Stench.

In her seventeenth year, she called them only twice. She told them about her new baby sister, about her high school trip to Mexico, and about how the obnoxious boy at school wasn't quite so obnoxious anymore. Hoggle told her that Sir Didymus was unable to come because of a very sick Ambrosious, and Ludo got cross-eyed from examining her poster of Monet's water lilies, which he had only just discovered.

In her eighteenth year, she didn't call them at all.

Sarah took the money she had made and saved from babysitting, and with new friends that she made at school, she went out. She went shopping, roller skating, and to the movies to see the latest romantic comedy. Two and a half years later, she went to senior prom with her first boyfriend and celebrated the fact that at the end of the summer, she would be attending Stanford University on an academic scholarship.

The Labyrinth never once crossed her mind.


	2. College

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 2: College

Sarah was enthralled with Stanford. Everything about it agreed with her – the climate, the close-but-far proximity from home, her classes, and her silly roommate that was forever meeting people and making friends with everyone, resulting in making Sarah friends with everyone as well.

But then, life and its cold realities opened up to her, and she learned that the classes at Stanford were not so easy to pass, and the papers not so easy to write. And after a few appalling grades that put her in danger of losing her scholarship, Sarah learned to study, to achieve. She spent less and less time with her silly roommate and more time in the library. The times that she did spend with her roommate grew less and less appealing. And after leaving one party early to help her extremely inebriated roommate back to their dorm room, she decided that the enticing distractions of life her roommate had to offer her were not so enticing after all.

Sarah grew up more and more with every year. The wide-eyed innocence of freshman year gave way to the passionate participation of sophomore year, which in turn yielded to the quiet, yet serious dedication of junior year. Sarah declared a major in Art with a minor in English, and began looking for another school to earn her teaching certification at. She went with classmates to art museums and spent many a summery afternoon at a nearby park, sketching the way different trees looked against the ever-changing colors of the sky.

One night, when Sarah was finding it particularly difficult to study due to the loud shrieks of freshmen running in the streets outside her window, she slammed her books shut and pulled a box off her shelf that she hadn't opened since she had closed it six years ago. The gentle button eyes of the Fire Gang plushy smiled at her as she removed the top, and she gently picked up the bookend figurine of Hoggle. He still had his small packet of jewels hanging from his belt, and if Sarah squinted, could those possibly be the beads of a plastic bracelet hidden in the folds of his right sleeve?

And there it was. _The Labyrinth_. The book had not lost its red color, though it seemed slightly more faded than what Sarah remembered. Sarah drew her fingers across the worn cover, and for the first time in several years, let her mind think on the friends she had once held dearer to her heart than most of the humans she knew.

What was Hoggle doing now? Did he still have her plastic bracelet? Did he still live outside the Labyrinth gates, shooting fairies with poison spray and teaching wishers how to ask the right questions?

What was Sir Didymus doing now? Did he still live in the tree by the bridge over the Bog, insisting that the air smelled pristinely fresh and caring for Ambrosious with all the ridiculous fervor with which he approached everything in life?

And Ludo. Ohh, her loving beast friend. Were Hoggle and Sir Didymus taking care of him? Was he happy? Sarah earnestly hoped so, as she remembered that he had always been the happiest when she had been around. The mirror she had always talked to all of them through was long gone. Sarah had gotten rid of it right before she left for college, and so she had no way to contact her Underground friends now.

In spite of herself, Sarah found her anger at the noisy ruckus that persisted outside her window decreasing. "I wish I could talk to you right now," she said quietly to the Hoggle figurine, brushing away the moisture that threatened to spill out of her eyes. And when she went to sleep that night, she dreamed of walking on damp earth underneath graceful trees towards a castle that shone in the distance.

o:o:o:o:o

The next year, her senior year, two things in happened that marked the beginning of a forever change in Sarah's life.

First, she took the last English class that she needed for her minor. It just so happened to be a class about fairytales and folklore. And the more Sarah attended class and read the assigned readings, the more she realized just how much she loved reading fairy stories. She had forgotten their appeal to her, and though they still remained in her imagination and not in her life, Sarah found herself daydreaming more and more as seniorities set in. One day during the fall, a book sale at a nearby store put many of her old favorite stories back onto her bookshelf.

The second thing that happened was something Sarah never saw coming.

It was a wonderfully warm night out, and Elaine, Sarah's new roommate, had been pestering Sarah for weeks to go out with her and her boyfriend for Valentine's Day.

"What on earth do you want me to go out with you for?" asked Sarah, perplexed. "It's Valentine's Day, for goodness sakes! Go out with Pete and have a nice time."

But Elaine was not one to take no for an answer, and insisted on Sarah coming along. Sarah retained her high level of confusion until they got to the restaurant, where she noticed a tall, blonde boy standing next to Pete.

Sarah whirled on Elaine, whose grin stretched across her whole face. "You tricked me!" she hissed. "This isn't just a fun outing with you, you freaking set me up!" Elaine kept walking, forcing Sarah to continue walking to greet the two men that waited outside the restaurant. Pete swept Elaine up in his arms, almost squishing the dozen roses between them in his embrace. Elaine shrieked and giggled, and it seemed as though the two of them had forgotten that Sarah was there.

The tall, blonde boy smiled at Sarah. "I'm Chris," he said. "Nice to meet you."

Sarah forced a smile back and extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you too," she said a little stiffly.

Chris pulled a single rose she hadn't seen him holding from behind his back and clasped her hand with it.

Sarah's eyes widened, and as she looked up into his eyes, he smiled gently at her. "I know this is the first time I've ever met you," he said, "But it is Valentine's Day, after all."

And Sarah's heart softened as she gave him a real, genuine smile, and took his arm to walk in to dinner. His blue eyes hardly left her the entire night, and before a month had passed by, Elaine was smugly shrieking "I told you so!" to a laughing, blushing, newly taken Sarah.

Chris was respectful, kind, and loved the mysteriousness that was Sarah. How serious she was about her studies (though in his mind, Art wasn't exactly a real major), how she adored her brother Toby, and how she loved stories in books and movies that had to do with all things mythical.

Four years of undergraduate study can seem so long at times. But before Sarah knew it, college was over and she was graduating from Stanford, _cum laude_. Robert and Karen stood in the audience with an eight-year-old Toby and her six-year-old sister Helen, clapping as she walked onto the stage a senior and walked off a graduate.

The next months saw her moving to a new state with Chris, Elaine, and Pete. The four of them found a cute apartment complex to live in. Sarah and Elaine took an apartment on the second floor, with the two guys right above them. As the other three found jobs and began steadily working 9-5 shifts, Sarah went back to school for the last time and earned her teaching certificate.

Just a short time later, Sarah became a high school Art teacher. Her students loved her, and though Chris grew tired of hearing about the various art projects that Sarah's students created or the new mythical movie that was coming to theaters soon, he told himself that he loved her and remained loyal.

Neither of them saw everything falling apart until it was too late.


	3. The Fight

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al. _Wild Magic_ is a book by the author Tamora Pierce and belongs solely to her. _Faery Queen of the Moors_ is a made-up title of my own.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 3: The Fight

As is often too sadly the case with couples that have been together for a long time, Chris and Sarah fell into a rut.

_Not like she notices_, Chris thought darkly to himself one wintry Saturday morning. Snow was falling outside, and though it was warm inside the apartment, he couldn't help but feel a deep chill. _I miss the sunshine of California. Why did we pick this place to move to again? _

He poured himself another cup of coffee and sat on the couch to drink it. Something crinkled underneath him, and he pulled out from beneath him yet another of Sarah's books – _Wild Magic_, by Tamora Pierce. He groaned loudly and threw the book on the coffee table. It hit the table with more force than he had intended, and went flying off the other side to hit the wall with a loud _thud_. He leaned his head against the back of the couch.

_This cannot continue_, he thought. _All this magic and fairy creatures . . . I thought it was just a phase – something she enjoyed in college. I never thought it would continue. _

When he had first started dating Sarah, he had thought that Sarah's enjoyment of fairytales was cute. A fad, maybe. But with the passion that she took to it, he had wondered . . .

He had chosen to love her all the more for it. And love her he did. But so many things had happened recently, and magic was the only thing that Chris could think of to blame.

When his little sister had fallen ill with pneumonia, Sarah had sent her a get-will letter with glitter in it – "fairy dust," she had called it. His little sister had loved it, true, but Chris had thought it rather strange.

And right after they had moved up here, Sarah bought eight books from the _Wizard of Oz _series and read them all cover to cover for months straight until he literally pulled the books out of her hands one night. That had caused a fight he hadn't anticipated.

"I'm only reading them because they remind me of home, Chris!" Sarah had shouted. "I'm homesick, alright? This is the farthest from home I've ever been and I'm not used to it! You don't have to get all pushy with me!" And when Chris had tried to say that she should be coming to him with her homesickness and not burying her nose in books about places that weren't real, she had burst into tears and run to her room, slamming the door and locking it and refusing to come out no matter what he said.

When he had lost his job, Sarah had been concerned and actively helped him look for a new one. At least, he thought she had been. When he had dropped by her apartment one day and found her watching _Faery Queen of the Moors_ instead of looking through newspaper advertisements for jobs, another fight had broken out. He had accused her of being insensitive and uncaring, and she had yelled that he was being the insensitive one for expecting her to job-hunt for him 24/7 and for picking on something that she loved and blaming all his problems on it. They had made up, true, but things hadn't been quite the same.

And now things were tense again. What was he to do?

_I don't want to end it_, thought Chris. _But I can't stand this obsession with fairy stories. Why can't she just live in the real world? Those books will never be real. She should want to spend all her best moments with me, not with myths and fairytales and student art creations._

He spent the rest of the day cleaning both his and her apartments, then left a note on her kitchen counter telling her to come upstairs for dinner when she got home.

He had just finished making dinner when she came bursting in, face flushed from the frigid air outside, eyes lit up from the freshly-cleaned apartment she had just discovered downstairs.

"Oh, Chris!" Sarah exclaimed, taking in the sight. Candles were lit everywhere. A small bouquet of roses sat in a vase on the table. She smiled up at him and kissed him, and he thought with a tinge of regret that it ended too quickly when she pulled away to ask him what the occasion was.

"Nothing," he said with a smile. "I just wanted to spend a special evening with you."

The enchanting smile he got in return told him he had said exactly the right thing.

Hours later, Sarah was snuggled up to him under a blanket on the sofa watching the snow fall outside in the darkness, save for a lone street light.

After a long silence, he felt her shift her head. He looked down at her, and saw her looking straight at him.

"Chris?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Sarah?"

"I . . ." Sarah bit her lip. "I want to tell you something."

"Okay," Chris said slowly. It wasn't like Sarah to be hesitant or slow with what she was thinking. She usually knew exactly the right things to say. And that was how she usually won arguments. But that wasn't what he should be thinking about right now.

"I want to tell you something that I've never told anyone before. Not even Elaine."

Chris raised his eyebrows. Sarah sat up, wrapping the blanket around her knees.

"You have to promise to listen, okay?"

Chris nodded.

"Alright. Okay. Well, this happened to me when I was fifteen."

Chris kept his eyes on her face, the perfect picture of attention.

"I was babysitting Toby one night."

Sarah's eyes were far away now, lost in a memory had stayed untold and unvisited ever since she had experienced it.

"He was crying, and wouldn't be quiet. So I told him a story." Sarah paused, staring off into space.

After several seconds of silence, Chris asked quietly, "What story?"

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby," she said softly. "And the baby was a spoiled child, and wanted everything to himself, and the young girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew is that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl . . . _oh!_" Sarah gasped, eyes wide.

Chris could hardly believe his ears. She was going to tell him something that she had never told him, and that thing was a goblin story she had told to Toby once?

"What?" he said in disbelief.

"Yes," Sarah said, misunderstanding him. Was her voice a bit shaky? "Yes, he had. And he had given her certain powers. So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her, she called on the goblins for help."

Chris listened in silence for several more moments, his disbelief growing by the second. And as she continued talking, disgust and anger began to mount inside him.

" . . . and I said, 'I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now.' And not a second later, Toby stopped crying."

Sarah turned to look at him, her eyes wide and focused on him. "They had taken him. Truly. I walked back into the room, and just as I feared, the goblins had taken my brother away to the castle beyond the Goblin City."

Chris could take no more.

"Are you kidding me, Sarah?" he exploded, standing up. Sarah jumped, startled out of her tale.

"Do you think that I believe a word of what you're saying, Sarah? This is ridiculous!" All of Chris' pent-up frustration came rushing to the surface as he paced back and forth in front of the couch, the emotions he had been trying to control as Sarah told her story pouring out of him. "Do you really think that for a second, I believe that goblins actually came and stole your younger brother away from you? That is the most cracked-up nonsense I have ever heard in my _entire life_!"

He turned to look at her. "Sarah. _These stories do not exist!_ And this is the last straw. You need to _stop reading all this nonsense_ and for goodness' sake rejoin the real world! There are no such things as fairies, ghosts, wizards, or goblins. They are not real! And you need to stop living in a fairy tale and put this behind you!" As he stopped to draw a breath, Sarah spoke. Her face was white, her eyes wide with shock and anger.

"Chris, I'm telling you the truth! The absolute truth, I swear on my life! This actually happened to me! Do you realize how important this is to me? I have told nobody and now you're throwing this back in my face like trash!"

"That's because it IS trash, Sarah! It is ridiculous, nonsensical trash!" Chris drew a breath again, watching Sarah's face as she tried to control herself, her eyes tearing up and her chest heaving with anger as she tried to keep herself under control.

He turned and looked at the candles on the table, the bouquet of roses. They seemed so tacky, now. The romance of the evening, so carefully constructed by his efforts that day, had all faded.

"Maybe we should take a break," he said softly.

Sarah's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me, Chris? After all this time we have spent together, you're going to throw it all away just because I am telling you about this?"

"No," he said angrily, "I'm telling you we should take a break until you get your head around the fact that wizards and goblins and storybooks should not take first place in your life over me."

Sarah's mouth dropped open, anger causing a tear to fall down her face. "How _dare_ you, Chris! Of _course _that stuff doesn't take place in my life over you! I love you! But I will not let you be all hung up on this like some stupid cow!"

"Get out!" Chris yelled. "Get out of my apartment, Sarah! That is going too far!"

"No!" Sarah yelled back, standing in front of him now. "Not until you see some sense!"

"You want some sense, Sarah? According to you? Why don't I just say to you what you would say to me right now if you were in my place? I wish . . ."

Sarah's face drained of color. "No, Chris!" she shouted.

But alas, it was too late.

"I wish the goblins would come take you away, RIGHT NOW!" Chris yelled.

The candles in the apartment snuffed out. The streetlight outside shut off. And with a horrified gasp, Sarah disappeared.


	4. Wished Away

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 4: Wished Away

It only took a moment. Before the truth of what had just happened had fully registered in Sarah's brain, she was sitting on the dirty stone floor of the throne room in front of an empty throne. Noisy goblins were capering about. At the sight of her, they all shouted various shrieks of surprise and then began talking and yelling even louder than they had before, if that was possible. It was a loud cacophony of noise, added to which was the cackling of chickens, banging of pots and pans, and crashing of sticks on the floor and walls.

Sarah stood up. _Oh no, no, no . . ._ she wailed inwardly. _It actually happened_. _I'm Underground. _

For a couple seconds, she stared at the empty throne, then moved her eyes around the room, taking in the large number of occupants. It seemed like ages had passed since she had last been here. The room had been empty then – the goblins occupied by running from large numbers of rocks that chased them in their city.

_Why oh why did he say those words? _wailed Sarah. _Oh, I'm in so much trouble. This is not good. _

Her eyes went back to the empty throne. _Where is . . . he? _She couldn't bring herself to think his name, even now. She hadn't given him a conscious thought ever since saying those fateful words all those years ago. And yet now, she would have to look at him face-to-face. In his territory.

As the unwanted one.

Sarah's insides cringed. And not a full minute later, the roaring cacophony of noise in the room stilled. Sarah inhaled slowly and turned around.

And there, standing in the doorway as haughtily as ever, was the Goblin King.

Time had not touched him. He wore the same high-collared black robes that he had worn when he had visited her in her parents' house after she had wished her younger brother away. His face was almost expressionless, save for a tiny hint of a smile on his face. Then as he took a step forward, he spoke.

"Well well well, if it isn't Sarah," he drawled slowly as he walked forward equally slowly, eyes never leaving her. His mouth twitched upward in his characteristic smile – the one where Sarah knew that even though he was smiling, he was still a force to be recognized. The one where his eyes don't quite match his smile.

"Yes," she croaked. Heat rose to her face and she cleared her throat.

The Goblin King chuckled. "My my, what an interesting set of circumstances this is."

He stopped walking and cocked his head to look at her from a new angle. "The once-wisher and winner of my Labyrinth . . . turned wished-away."

The goblins roared in laughter, rolling over and whacking the stones with their sticks in their mirth. The Goblin King never took his eyes off Sarah, his haughty smirk still on his face.

Sarah stood there defiantly, meeting his eyes. He held her gaze for a couple seconds before snapping his fingers once. Immediately, the room grew silent again.

The Goblin King turned and pointed to a clock on the wall – the same, familiar 13-hour clock that Sarah remembered so well from her own run through the Labyrinth.

"He has decided to run the Labyrinth," the King drawled, turning to look at her. "Your . . . _lover_."

The goblins snickered.

"He has thirteen hours to make it through. But of course, you already knew that."

Sarah nodded her head. Then a frown creased her forehead. "But you have . . ." she began.

The Goblin King cut her off sharply with a gesture of his hand, his eyes flashing. He held her gaze for another couple of seconds, then held out his hand to her. "Come," he said simply.

Sarah looked at his hand dubiously. If he really thought she was going to . . .

"Oh come, come," he said impatiently. "We're not going far." His eyes, now angry and impatient at her doubt, snapped at her.

Somewhat fearfully, Sarah took his hand.

And in a moment, she found herself on a castle parapet, standing next to the Goblin King, wind whipping her hair and clothes. Before them stretched the Labyrinth.

Despite herself, Sarah inhaled in awe. It was beautiful – its twists and turns curling around and around and into each other, making it impossible for the eye to pick out a definite path. After a couple moments, Sarah turned to look at the Goblin King. He was standing still, arms folded across his chest, gazing out over the maze, face devoid of emotion.

"You have something to say," he stated quietly, not facing her.

"Yes," Sarah said, her voice cracking. Her face flushed and she cleared her throat. "Yes. I thought you had no power over me."

He turned to look at her now, his face still impassive. "I don't."

Sarah's forehead creased in confusion. "But then . . . you can't keep me here. You have to send me home right now."

He didn't answer right away. He looked at her calculatingly for a moment or two, then unfolded his arms and walked to her other side, saying, "The rules that govern the Labyrinth are more powerful than even I am. What you say is true – I have no power over you and cannot keep you here. At the end of the thirteen hours, you will be returned to Aboveground. You will not be turned into a goblin."

His eyes crinkled slightly and a half-smile crept onto his face as he said that. "Though it's such a pity – you would be the most entertaining goblin to ever grace my court."

Sarah flushed again.

He let her feel embarrassed for a couple seconds, then spoke again. "I will send you home when your lover's thirteen hours are up. But until then, you must stay here. Is that clear?"

Sarah nodded. Then on an impulse, she asked, "Can I leave the castle and walk around?"

The King's forehead furrowed in thought. "Depends on where you want to go," he said after a couple moments. "You are absolutely not allowed to come into contact with your lover in any way. But I suppose . . ."

His forehead creased in a frown, then smoothed out again. "I do not usually allow it. But I suppose you may visit some friends if you would like to."

With a swish of his wrist, a crystal ball materialized in his hand. "Take this," he said, extending it to her. "Go down to the Goblin City. Your friends will meet you there. When you wish to return to the castle, cup this in your hands and blow on it."

Sarah took the crystal and looked at it. She could see movements flickering around in its depths, but couldn't make out any of the shapes.

"Follow me," the King stated, and walked past her towards a door. Sarah followed him. They descended the stairs of the tower in silence, and when they reached the throne room a couple minutes later, he walked over to his throne and sat in it, throwing one of his legs over the arm. He said nothing more to her, so Sarah walked out of the door of the throne room and into the Goblin City.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hello, fabulous readers! Thank you for reading my story! I'm very excited about it, especially since <em>Labyrinth<em> is one of my favorite movies!**

**That said, I would like to make a small request. I didn't particularly want to ask my readers to leave reviews, but I do so love to read them and it's nice to know what people think of the story so far, especially since this one is going to take the record as the longest one I've ever written.**

**So please - leave a review! Even if it's only a smiley face :)**

**Next chapter coming soon!**


	5. Friends

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 5: Friends

The main square at the foot of the castle was bustling with activity. It seemed that in the morning (or at least during the first couple hours of a runner's journey through the Labyrinth), the square was used as the location for an informal market. Little carts were set up everywhere in haphazard rows that twisted and turned all through the square. Vendors that were not occupied with customers were yelling their wares to prospective buyers as loud as they could. Sarah smelled cooking food, and saw little goblin children chasing each other through the sea of legs in the aisles. Their lips moved and their faces lit up, enthralled with their game and calling out to each other, but she could not hear what they said to each other over the clanging of iron and yells of the goblin vendors.

Sarah wandered through the maze of carts, looking at the wares for sale. She had to bend over to see what most of them were selling, and after she almost stepped on a small child that darted past her legs, she walked with her eyes on her feet to make sure that she didn't step on any others. It was because of this that she didn't see the small lance that poked her leg.

"My lady!"

Sarah grinned. That voice could only belong to one creature in the world. She turned and smiled at the foxy face that was alight with joy at seeing her. "Sir Didymus!" she exclaimed.

"My lady Sarah!" he exclaimed, saluting her with his lance so enthusiastically that he almost fell off of Ambrosious, who panted happily to see her. "It has been far too long since mine eyes have had the pleasure of dwelling upon your visage!"

Sarah bent down to hug the small fox. "I know it has," she said. "But I am here now!"

"Hello, Sarah," said a shy, crackly voice behind Sir Didymus. Sarah smiled at her favorite dwarf friend and gave him a hug, too. "Hello, Hoggle," she said. Then she lightly kissed the top of his head, smiling at his blush and furtive glance around to see if the Goblin King's threat from so many years ago still held any sway.

"Saawwwaaaahhhh!" rumbled Ludo, his friendly eyes lit up with excitement at seeing her.

"Ludo!" Sarah said, getting up to throw her arms around her orange friend. "Oh Ludo, it's so good to see you," she said, burying her face in his warm fur. "It's so good to see all of you!" she added on, looking down at Hoggle and Sir Didymus. "I've missed you!"

"We have missed you too, fair maiden," Sir Didymus said. "We could hardly contain our ecstasy when we received the summons that notified us of your presence here!"

"Sawah baaacckk," rumbled Ludo.

Hoggle just smiled and hugged her leg, a rare thing for him. _He must have really missed me_, Sarah thought as she returned his embrace.

The four of them wandered through the main square for a while. In his excitement, Sir Didymus bought them all a piece of grilled meat wrapped in soft bread. Sarah was unable to eat hers for a while, due to the fact that the three Labyrinthians pelted her with questions. She talked about her move, her teaching job, her relationship with Chris, and what all had transpired to bring her back to the Labyrinth. The three friends were all surprised to hear that Sarah had been wished away, and Sir Didymus threatened to go find Chris and challenge him to a duel before Sarah could convince him that no, he shouldn't do that and that yes, she did love him.

"Why did he wish you away if you love him?" Hoggle asked, perplexed.

"Well . . ." Sarah said, unsure of her answer. "Well he . . . I mean I . . . that is, we kind of had a fight."

"So he wished you away?" Hoggle asked, no less confused.

"Well he didn't mean to," Sarah said, doubt growing inside her. "He didn't mean it."

"My lady," announced Sir Didymus, "This man who claims to love you obviously does not understand the _Statute of Finality._ Henceforth, he is not worthy of your love!"

Sarah stopped Sir Didymus' further pronouncements against Chris with her own confusion. "What's the Statute of Finality?"

"You mean you don't know?" Hoggle asked in surprise.

Sarah shook her head.

"The _Statute of Finality_ is what governs the decisions 'round here," Hoggle said. "If you make a statement or a decision, it's made. That's why a person can't undo it when they wish a child away. What's said is said."

_What's said is said._

Hoggle's words brought a memory from long ago to Sarah's mind - that of a fifteen-year-old girl telling a haughty king dressed in black that she didn't mean it when she wished her brother away.

"The _Statute of Finality_, huh," Sarah said slowly. "That makes sense."

Sir Didymus opened his mouth again. Hastily, Sarah asked him if he was still living by the Bog.

"To be sure, my lady!" exclaimed Sir Didymus. "Can you think of someone else who has the courage necessary to guard the bridge against trespassers?"

Sarah assured him she could not. "And you, Hoggle," she said, turning to her friend. "Are you still hunting fairies?"

The grizzled dwarf's face broke into a grin. "Two hundred and forty-six," he said proudly. Sarah couldn't help but laugh.

"Faiwies baaaadddd," complained Ludo.

"He tried to make friends with one once and it bit him," Hoggle muttered to her under his breath.

Sarah suppressed a grin. "I agree, Ludo, they are bad. They're so . . . so . . . aahhhhh"

A huge yawn interrupted Sarah's words.

"Sawah sweepy?" asked Ludo.

"Yes," she said tiredly. "I've been up all day in my world and now for several more hours in yours."

"You should get some rest," said Hoggle. "Take a small nap. You've got several more hours before you can leave the Labyrinth."

Sarah didn't particularly want to, since she hadn't seen her friends in so long, but she thought she might fall asleep in the streets of the Goblin City if she didn't. "Do you mind?" she asked ruefully.

The three friends assured her they didn't mind at all, so they all said goodbyes and gave her another three hugs each before parting ways.

As she walked back up to the castle, Sarah ruminated on the last few hours. She had felt so alive with them. And she truly had missed them – more than she thought. _I wish I didn't have to say goodbye to them again_, she thought regretfully. It was thoughts like these that occupied her mind until before she knew it, she was walking back into the Throne Room. Though there were still goblins laughing and wrestling around on the floor, the throne was once again empty. Sarah glanced at the clock on the wall – _4:50_.

Feeling drowsier by the second, Sarah sat down against a wall next to a fluffy black goblin and leaned her head against the stone. The goblin looked at her inquisitively. Sarah couldn't help but smile – it had a beak and whiskers, and looked somewhat like a mix between a bird and a kitten. "Cheep?" it asked her.

Sarah reached her hand over and scratched its fuzzy head. It closed its eyes and made noises of contentment in its throat. Its fur was warm.

So warm.

Sarah's eyes closed. The raucous noise of the throne room swirled around her, pushing her, pulling her under.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: What do you think so far? Let me know! And leave a review . . . it's my birthday this Saturday and it would be so awesome! <strong>

**-Wacky**


	6. Relativity

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al. The song _Within You_ belongs to David Bowie.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 6: Relativity

Sarah stood in that room again.

Flights of stairs stretched up and down and this way and that way and all different ways away from her.

_How you turned my world, you precious thing_

At the sound of the voice, she began to run. Down the flight in front of her and up the next. Urgency pervaded all her movements as she tried to chase the sound – to keep the voice from fading away.

_You starve and near exhaust me_

Sarah's head whipped around. Did it change direction? Was it coming from over there instead of straight in front of her?

_Everything I've done, I've done for you_

Was that the corner of a black cloak that whipped around that corner at the top of those stairs in front of her? Sarah began to run again, desperate to catch the voice that sang so hauntingly.

_I move the stars for no one_

_Move them for me_, Sarah begged, her lips forming the words that did not come out of her throat. _Move them for me_.

_You've run so long  
>You've run so far<em>

Sarah ran still. Up these stairs, down those. Around the corner. And there he was, in the upper corner of the room, standing on the right wall, defying every rule of gravity. He wore the dark clothes he had worn the last time she had been here – when she had faced him in this very room and told him those right words to win her brother back.

_Your eyes can be so cruel_

He sang. His voice filled the air.

_Just as I can be so cruel_

His eyes pierced through her. Sarah reached out to him as a child begging to be picked up would reach to an adult, her eyes desperate with longing.

_Though I do believe in you  
>Yes I do<em>

As he sang the second line, he tossed a crystal. It bounced off the right wall, then the left, then the ceiling. It continued to bounce, and bounced up the flight of stairs at her feet to land in her hand. As she touched it, she felt an extremely disorienting feeling similar to a large hook catch her around her diaphragm and yank down. She gasped and dropped the crystal, looking back up at him. He smiled haughtily, with laughter in his eyes.

As he sang with the next line, he looked away from her, the laughter disappearing from his face.

_Live without the sunlight_.

_No_, Sarah thought. _I'm running out of time_. Still feeling disoriented, she looked at the wall next to her. Then, struck by a stray thought, she placed her foot up against the wall.

_Love without your heartbeat_

Sarah stepped up onto the wall. Now she was standing on the left side, opposite him. And though she was for all intents and purposes defying gravity as he was, her hair did not fall from her shoulders, but acted as if gravity still pulled her from below. Empowered by her newfound talent, Sarah raced up the flight of stairs in front of her and down the next, then stepped onto the next wall, switching dimensions again.

_I, I can't live within you_

He didn't look at her, didn't watch her progress as she raced up stairs and down stairs and across walls in her race to get to him in time.

_I, I can't live within you_

Something was wrong, Sarah thought wildly. She had climbed and descended far too many flights of stairs to still be this far away from him. Why wasn't she getting any closer? Then to her horror, she saw that the room was stretching, widening the distance between the room's two occupants.

He turned to look at her now, his face impassive. Not reacting to how fast she was running, frantically trying to beat the mechanics of a room she knew nothing about. Sarah's eyes were desperately latched onto his face, the words lodging in her throat, refusing to come out.

Don't leave me. Come back. Let me come to you. I'm trying. Don't leave me.

His eyes never left hers as he sang the last line, the room speeding up, carrying him further and further away from her.

_I, I can't live within you. _

Sarah felt herself falling. She reached out for him, the words still stuck in her throat, darkness taking over, taking him away from her.

No. Don't leave me. I'm trying. Don't leave me. Please.

Darkness swirled around until she was no longer running on anything, but swirling down into a vortex of nothingness.

And then whatever blocked her throat unblocked.

Sarah sat up with a huge gasp, eyes wide and crazed, heart pounding. She looked around. She was in a small bedroom. The twilight sun shone through her window, illuminating the patch of wall just below one of those thirteen-hour clocks on the wall. It read – _9:26_.

Sarah blinked and looked down. Her legs were tangled into a mass of cream-colored sheets. She pulled them away and got down from the bed, still slightly dazed from her dream. She walked to her window and looked out. The setting sun cast rays of goldenrod yellow over a forest of trees.

_I wonder if that's where the Bog of Eternal Stench is_, Sarah thought for a moment. Then she turned from the window and, walking to the door, opened it and stepped into the hallway.

Nobody was there. She looked both ways and saw that it stretched on in both directions, not unlike the outer rim of the Labyrinth in which she had been unable to find the first opening without that little worm's help.

Stepping back into the room, she closed the door behind her. Just as she was wondering what to do next, she saw that the crystal the Goblin King had given her was sitting on the bedside table. She crossed the room and took it in her hands. Then she closed her palms around it and softly blew.

She felt a strange, watery feeling creep up through her limbs and watched as the room she stood in shimmered in front of her, colors changing and blending and moving and shifting . . . into the throne room. Seconds later, the noisy chatter of the goblins struck her ears and the watery feeling disappeared from her limbs. She lowered the crystal from her mouth and looked around. This time, the throne was occupied.

Sarah looked at its occupant – a mix of emotions from her dream still running through her. Confusion. Relief. Fear. Longing. He looked right back at her, his ever-impassive face with its permanent undercurrent of haughtiness taking in her emotional state and not reacting. She crossed the room and handed him his crystal. He took it from her and swirled it around his fingers.

"Sleep well?" he asked, his deep voice sending an almost-imperceptible shiver down her spine.

"Well enough," she mumbled. The corners of his mouth twitched with mirth.

Sarah's eyesbrows raised in astonishment. "You put that dream in my head," she accused. "You made me dream what I did!"

He scoffed. "Nonsense, Sarah. I can only show you what your dreams are. Only you can take them."

Sarah's forehead wrinkled in confusement.

"You were quite tired," he drawled. "Imagine my amusement when I came back to find you sprawled on top of Fuzzbrain over there."

Sarah looked over to see the small, fuzzy black goblin whose head she had been scratching still sitting in the same spot. Its bright black eyes were trained on her, and it peeped at her when it saw her looking.

Sarah looked back at the Goblin King. "Is its name really Fuzzbrain?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "I don't know. Does it matter?"

Sarah frowned. "Well you get my name right every time. I don't see why their names should be any different."

This time, it was his turn to frown. He regarded her as such for a few moments, then said, "You have three hours and fourteen minutes left Underground. Do you have anyone else you would like to see before it gets dark?"

Sarah thought for a couple seconds, then smiled. "I'd like to visit the worm, please."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: It's my birthday! Yaayy! Is it sad that I'm kinda excited like a five-year-old before Christmas morning? Well, that may be exaggerating a bit, but I am quite happy right now :) and this is one of my favorite chapters, so that makes it even better! Enjoy!<strong>

**Wackysocks**


	7. Meet the Missus

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 7: Meet the Missus

Sarah walked down the long stretch of stone that was the outer rim of the Labyrinth, stepping over and around its characteristic clutter of sticks and broken branches. A half-smile unknowingly hung on her lips as she thought about what had just transpired.

When she had made her request, he had scoffed at first, thinking her to be joking. And when he had seen that she wasn't, he had immediately asked her how on earth he was supposed to know what worm she was talking about, as there were hundreds that lived in the Labyrinth.

It was in that moment that Sarah was especially glad she had majored in Art. It had taken only a minute or two for her to sketch the little worm who had told her that things weren't always what they seemed. His bulbous blue body, the little tufts of blue hair on his head, his orange eyes, and the little red scarf he wore. The Goblin King had watched her as she sketched, her pen making confident strokes across the paper. When she finished, he had examined the drawing for a minute, then smiled. A full smile, without any trace of malice in his eyes. "You draw well," he said.

"I studied Art in college," she had replied.

"I see," he responded. His smile left almost as quickly as it came as he studied the drawing for another moment, then got up from the throne. He extended his hand to her. She took it.

And a moment later Sarah had found herself standing in the corridor of the outer rim. The Goblin King took a couple steps in front of her, then turned to look back. "The worm of which you speak lives down there," he said, pointing down the corridor in front of her.

Sarah nodded.

"You have one hour," he said. "Then the sun will set and you will be returned to my castle."

Sarah nodded again.

The King lowered his arm. "Use your time wisely," he said, his face searching hers.

_What? _Sarah thought. But before she had been able to ask him what he meant, he disappeared.

Even now, as she walked down the corridor in the direction she had pointed, she thought about what he had said to her. _Use my time wisely? What is that supposed to mean?_ she thought about it for a couple minutes more, then put it from her mind and trained her eyes on the right wall of the corridor, looking for the little blue worm.

A minute later, she saw him. Smiling, she crouched down and looked at him.

"Ello!" he said cheerfully in his gravelly voice. "Fancy seein' you 'ere again!"

Sarah laughed lightly. "I know," she said. "I didn't think I'd ever be back here."

"Sometimes things 'appen that you never think would!" the worm said cheerfully. "Especially in this place!"

"I don't doubt it," Sarah said, smiling.

"Come in and 'ave a cup o' tea!" the worm said. "Meet the missus!"

Sarah smiled wider. "That sounds wonderful," she said.

The worm cocked his head, excitement in his eyes. "Really?"

"Yes," said Sarah. "I would love to."

"Wonderful!" the worm said enthusiastically. "Now just grab a bit of my scarf 'ere and 'old tight!"

Sarah reached down and pinched the edge of his scarf. Immediately, a strong tingling sensation took hold of her legs, racing up her spine and down her arms. She gasped.

The tingling sensation raced up and down her body – wave after wave. And as it did, she did not let go of her hold on the worm's scarf. She kept her eyes trained on him and watched as he grew bigger and bigger. Until seconds later, she was standing on the ledge right in front of him, pinching his scarf in her fingers still. Only this time, his scarf would have fit nicely around her neck twice and still been long enough to drag on the ground. Sarah turned and looked up at where she had just been standing, and was unprepared for the immense magnitude of everything.

"Woah," she said, awestruck.

"Quite a sight, innit?" the worm asked cheerfully.

"Yes," said Sarah responded, still breathless.

"Well let's not sit out 'ere all night – come in!" the worm said. Sarah followed him into the tunnel carved into the stone. Seconds later, they were in a cozy little room. A little fire crackled in the corner. The floor was covered with rugs that held the heat it gave off, and there on a blanket next to the fireplace sat another worm as blue as the one Sarah had met so many years ago. Only instead of tufts of blue hair sticking out in random places on its head, this one's hair was a deep shade of magenta.

"Ello!" she said cheerfully. "Ello 'ello!"

Sarah smiled. "Hello," she said. "My name is Sarah."

"Ello! I'm Innette! Would you like a cup o' tea?"

Sarah said that she would, and as Innette fixed her one, she learned that her friend's name was Ogden. He referred to Innette as "missus," which Sarah could tell was his endearing name for her by the smiles he gave her and the way her eyes lit up whenever he said it.

"What brings you 'here?" Innette asked after she returned to the fireplace.

Sarah sipped on her tea, the heat from the fire warm on her back. "Well, it's kind of a long story," she said.

"Do you 'ave time?" Ogden asked.

"Only an hour," Sarah said regretfully. "Well, probably less than that now."

"Then let's not bother with it," Innette said no less cheerfully. "Tell us what you've been doing out there!"

"Out where?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Out there!" Innette said. "Outside!"

Sarah told them of visiting Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus, and how happy she had been to see her friends again after so long a time. Innette and Ogden were both aghast over the fact that she had been in the Goblin City, and even more horrified when she had told them that she was staying in the castle while she waited for the thirteen hours to run its course.

"But the King," Ogden protested. "The King's a dangerous sort for sure!"

"He's not so bad," said Sarah slowly. "He's . . . he's just – not what people want him to be, I guess."

Ogden and Innette exchanged a look, then Innette said, "What do you mean by that, dearie?"

"I don't know," Sarah said, surprised at herself even as she continued to speak. "I think people want him to be what they think of in their minds as a king. And . . ." she unknowingly smiled, her eyes far away. "He's not. He's not at all."

The worms' mouths moved silently for a moment, then Ogden changed the subject.

When Sarah asked the worms about themselves, she learned that what the King had told her was true – hundreds of worms lived in the Labyrinth. Ogden pointed out a small door in the back of his house and explained that it led to a corridor, which in turn led to what Sarah imagined as an entire network of little worm burrows and places to gather together.

The tea was hot and sweet, and Innette was beyond delighted when Sarah asked for another cup. The hour ended all too swiftly, and too soon, Sarah was forced to say goodbye to the worms. They cheerfully bid her goodbye, and Innette thanked her multiple times for her visit. As she stepped outside onto the ledge where she had first met Ogden, the watery feeling returned to her legs and the night air around her shimmered, the colors shifting around her and growing brighter until they materialized once again into the throne room.

As Sarah once again heard the noisy chatter of the goblins, the clock on the wall bonged.

Eleven times.

Two more hours.


	8. Magic Dance

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al. The song _Magic Dance_ belongs to David Bowie.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 8: Magic Dance

As soon as Sarah registered the fact that her time Underground was almost up, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shriek from one of the goblins. But before she could look for the source of the sound, all the goblins began banging on the walls, on the floors, even on their neighbors with a steady rhythm that could only be to a song. Drums started from somewhere. And from behind Sarah . . .

_You remind me of the babe_

As a goblin spoke somewhere off to her left, Sarah whirled around to see the Goblin King standing there, with a smile on his face that led her to believe he was hiding something. Her face creased with confusion. What on earth . . . ?

_The babe with the power_

And he was singing? A goblin off to her right spoke, and as it did, the King began slowly walking towards her, kicking a goblin out of the way as he did.

_The power of voodoo_

Sarah watched in amazement as he sang the next couple lines, flicking his fingers at a goblin here, giving another one a kick there. And then, he whirled around to point at her.

_I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry  
>What could I do?<em>

Who was this person? This person who sang with a voice deep and powerful, and had a teasing kind of smile on his face that brought a smile to Sarah's face as well?

_My baby's love had gone  
>And left my baby blue<br>Nobody knew_

_My baby's love. Chris_. Sarah's mind jolted with the thought of her boyfriend, out there in the Labyrinth, fighting his way towards her. It was strange, though – the thought of him was almost . . . unpleasant. As if her mind was trying to reject the thought of him.

_What kind of magic spell to use?_

The Goblin turned from her and looked at the goblins for a moment, and they sang something about slimy snails. Or something like that. Sarah wasn't paying very much attention to the goblins. Then as he sang the next line, he took two large steps toward Sarah, and before Sarah could move out of the way, she was in his arms and he was twirling her around the throne room.

_Dance, magic dance  
>Dance, magic dance<br>Put that baby spell on me_

The goblins chanted and hopped and danced around them, and Sarah's traitorous mind brought to her a memory from long ago, when she had danced with the Goblin King to a haunting love song. _I was searching desperately for him in that dream, too_, Sarah thought in spite of herself. And her face grew hot, staining her cheeks with color.

_Jump, magic jump  
>Jump, magic jump<br>Put that magic jump on me  
>Slap that baby, make him free<em>

The Goblin King's smile was noticeable wider as he released her, spinning her around. Sarah caught herself before she fell, watching as he did not turn away from her, but slowly began to walk around her as he sang the next words.

_I saw my baby, trying hard as babe could try  
>What could I do?<em>

_He genuinely looks like he's asking me a question_, Sarah thought wildly, an awed, excited smile etched onto her face. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. _But what is it?_

_My baby's fun had gone  
>And left my baby blue<br>Nobody knew  
>What kind of magic spell to use?<em>

Sarah smiled as the goblins sang, somehow anticipating what was coming. And sure enough, as he sang his next line, the King held his hand out to her.

_And baby said?_

Sarah took it, allowing herself to be pulled into his arms as he whirled her around the room again.

_Dance, magic dance  
>Dance, magic dance<em>

_Put that baby spell on me_, Sarah mouthed at him, grinning as his smile grew even wider.

_Jump, magic jump  
>Jump, magic jump<br>Put that magic jump on me_

They danced and danced, whirling around and around to the music and the singing of the goblins. His voice was powerful and deep and rich - an intoxicating mix of beautiful. Sarah could listen to him for days. After a couple more trips around the throne room, the Goblin King slowed to a stop. He studied her face for a minute, a half-smile hanging on his lips, then with a nod of his head, indicated that she follow him.

Too breathless and awestruck to even think of arguing, Sarah followed him out of the throne room, the goblins still singing and banging behind her.

The minute she was completely out of the room, the Goblin King turned, took her hand, and spun her underneath it as if she was still dancing with him. As Sarah turned underneath his arm, she felt the shiver of magic run through her, and came out of the spin standing on the same castle parapet that he had taken her to earlier that day.

Sarah looked at the Goblin King, still breathless. He smiled at her, then gestured that she look out over the rampart. She did so, and gasped.

The entire Goblin City was lit up with lights. The moon shone on the trees of the forest she had seen from her window earlier, and even the junkyard at the gates of the city looked more beautiful in the moon's ethereal glow. Sarah leaned out over the wall, and inhaled. The wind was warm and smelled earthy. The air was so much fuller here, Sarah realized. Everything was fuller here. More vibrant. More full of life. More everything.

She leaned back and looked at the Goblin King. He was watching her quietly.

"I didn't know you could sing," Sarah said.

He gave her a small smile. "I didn't know you could draw."

Sarah snorted and gave him an _oh-come-on_ look.

He just smiled again. "Waiting for thirteen hours to run out gets rather tedious sometimes. The goblins enjoy singing and dancing, and I find that it passes the time."

While he didn't exactly say so, Sarah figured that was as much of an "I enjoy singing and dancing" as she was ever going to get out of the Goblin King. She watched him as he looked out over the land they could see from the ramparts, and was surprised when he chuckled softly to himself.

"What's funny?" she asked.

"Nothing," he responded, chuckling again.

"I don't believe you," she persisted.

He looked at her calculatingly, then smiled again. "About ten minutes before you returned from your visit with the worm, your lover fell into the Bog of Eternal Stench."

Sarah's eyes widened. "But . . . but that means he . . ."

The King flicked his hand dismissively. "The fact that you cannot be held Underground after the thirteen hours seems to work in reverse as well. When you both return Aboveground, the smell will not follow him."

He paused to smile again. "But as of right now, your lover reeks."

Sarah sat there for a second, then giggled. And giggled again. And again and again, until she was full-on laughing, clutching the stone wall for support, bent over. She could hear him laughing with her. The sound of his full laugh, not just a chuckle, thrilled her.

When she thought she had recovered from her laughing fit and straightened up, it only took one look at him to see the telltale smirk on his face and start giggling again. It was another minute before she managed to regain control of herself and catch her breath.

"I'll bet he's miserable right now," she said with laughter in her voice.

The Goblin King gave her a full smile – one that showed all his teeth. "Quite."

Sarah giggled again. She looked back out over the land, thinking back to the last time she had seen Chris. It seemed ages ago instead of hours – when they had been sitting on his couch after a romantic dinner and she had begun telling him of the first time she had been Underground. How she had been so upset about staying home to babysit that one night, and begun telling a crying Toby a story about a Goblin King that had given a girl certain powers.

"Oh!" Sarah gasped, turning to look at the Goblin King.

He turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow in question.

"You . . . are you . . . well I said that . . . oh geez," Sarah stuttered, flushing.

He chuckled again. "That gets us nowhere, Sarah."

"I know that," Sarah said in an irritated tone. "I just . . . okay."

She took a deep breath and began again. "I just wanted to know if . . . you . . . you were maybe . . . in love with me."

In seconds, the Goblin King's face lost all traces of its smile and turned to frozen stone, with something akin to anger shooting out of his eyes.

"It was just when I was telling Toby that story all those years ago," stammered Sarah, a little frightened now and wondering why she had brought this up at all. "I told him that you had given me certain powers and that you had fallen in love with me. And I just . . . wanted to know if it was . . . true."

He looked at her for several long seconds. Just when Sarah thought she couldn't take it anymore, he spoke.

"Why on earth would you think that I had given you any powers?" he asked, with such a sarcastic tone that Sarah felt completely and utterly ridiculous.

"I . . . well I don't know, that was . . . I was only fifteen," Sarah said falteringly.

"I do not give powers, Sarah," the Goblin King said in a chilling tone. "You of all people should know that. It takes belief and a wish to come here. I don't waltz around handing out power left and right like some dithering young fool handing out daisies."

Sarah blushed and looked down. "I-I'm sorry," she said. "I – you're right. I should have known."

"And as to your second question," he continued.

Sarah looked back up at him fearfully.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said coldly. Then he turned and walked away from her, his profile becoming fainter and fainter until he disappeared into the air.

Sarah stared at the spot where he had disappeared, unaware that she had been holding her breath until she exhaled. _Sarah, you idiot_, she chided herself. _Asking the Goblin King if he was in love with you? What were you thinking? He doesn't . . . he doesn't work like that. _

She looked past the spot where the Goblin King had disappeared at the door that they had exited through earlier, then began walking towards it. As she walked down the spiral staircase of the tower, she thought about his answer. _Don't be ridiculous_, he had said. In retrospect, she expected him to say something along those lines . . . but why on earth should his answer be causing these pangs of sorrow in her chest? Sarah brushed it off and, several minutes later, returned to the throne room.

And as she did, the clock bonged again. Twelve times.

One more hour.


	9. The Last Hour

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 9: The Last Hour

When Sarah finally reached the throne room (it had taken a while, as she had gotten lost and taken a small detour down a corridor before realizing she was going the wrong way), its chief occupant was not there. And while Sarah was slightly disappointed at his absence, she was simultaneously struck by a sense of relief, as she had no idea what she would say to him if he were there. The goblins had ceased their singing and were rolling around on the floor. Wrestling, wacking each other, chasing each other around other goblins, and spitting darts at chickens. Sarah watched them for a moment, and then saw that over in a corner, a couple goblins were busily coloring each others' faces with some charcoal sticks. She walked over to them.

"May I?" asked Sarah, holding her hand out for one of the sticks.

"May you what?" screeched one of the goblins.

Sarah smiled, remembering the first time she had asked a dweller of the Labyrinth a question and had straightforward answers given to her until, to put it in his words, she "asked the right questions."

"May I please have one of those sticks?"

The goblin cackled and handed it over to her. She drew large, curly eyelashes on its face as it giggled and shouted when its companion poked it with the other stick.

"Cheep cheep?"

Sarah glanced to her left. There was the little black goblin that the King had referred to as Fuzzbrain, still sitting against the wall. She smiled. Then a pensive look crossed her face and she studied the little creature for a second.

Gently moving the goblin whose stick she was using out of the way, she blew on the patch of stone where he had sat until all the excess bits of dirt and straw had blown away. Then, with the practiced hand of an artist, she began to sketch the outline of little goblin's head.

"Oooooo!" yelled the goblin with the curly eyelashes crouching at the edge of the stone. "Abga bagga diggidee oobdook!"

This unintelligible outburst caused two nearby goblins to hop over to where Sarah was sketching on the stone. Their similar outcries brought another goblin over to investigate, and by the time Sarah had finished sketching the outline of the goblin's body and started shading the fuzzy hair on its head, the entire goblin population that habitually populated the throne room was gathered around her little patch of stone. Of course, they didn't all fit that well. Many were balanced precariously on each other's shoulders or heads, and Sarah herself had two small goblins perched on each of her shoulders. They made noises of awe in their throats every time she added a new detail to her drawing.

When she finally finished, a mirror image of the fuzzy black goblin had been sketched on the stone, down to the question in its eyes, its beak slightly open as if to ask, "Cheep?"

Sarah studied it for a moment more, then carefully wrote "Cheep" underneath her drawing, christening the little goblin in her mind.

As she leaned back on her legs and set the charcoal stick down, the goblins paused in their admiration for a moment, then burst into raucous cheering, hopping up and down and falling off each other's shoulders and rolling around on the floor.

Sarah couldn't help but laugh at the pandemonium she had caused. The goblins scattered to all corners of the room, and seconds later were running back at her with charcoal sticks in her hands, reaching up to her as if to say, "Draw me next." In seconds, Sarah was completely surrounded by hopping goblins, clamoring for her to draw their likenesses on the stone next. Sarah picked one at random, took the stick from its hands, and motioned for the goblins to move off the patch of stone adjacent to her drawing of Cheep. They moved immediately, as if she had been the Goblin King and not a mere wished-away. Sarah began sketching it, but quickly found that all of the goblins were way too excited to sit quietly. The goblin she was sketching kept hopping and craning its neck to see what she was drawing, and the goblins around it kept pushing and showing each other to get a better view.

However, Sarah was not a quitter. She was still laboring away at her sketch, trying to keep her arm steady despite the goblins hopping on her shoulders, when she heard him.

"Quiet."

The goblins ceased their yelling and the room fell silent. Sarah looked up to see the Goblin King standing in the doorway, regarding the scene impassively.

_How long has he been standing there?_ she thought. _He didn't make a sound . . . _

"You have four minutes left. It's time to go," he said.

Carefully, Sarah lifted the goblins off her shoulders and got to her feet. Gently nudging the furry bodies out of the way to avoid stepping on them, she maneuvered her way out of the cluster. She walked over to the Goblin King, and he indicated with his head that she should follow him as he walked out of the throne room and onto the steps to the entrance of the castle.

The main square of the Goblin City was empty now, and Sarah could see some houses lit with lights, shadows moving inside. Others were completely dark, and Sarah imagined scores of little goblins snoring in their beds, free from worry and harm.

"When the clock begins to strike thirteen, I will take you back," said the King quietly. "I only have a couple seconds to do so, as I then must go to your lover and inform him that he has lost."

Sarah nodded. The King did not say any more, and Sarah knew that it was now or never.

"I . . . what I said earlier. On the castle top," Sarah said. "I'm sorry. It was so intrusive of me."

The Goblin King did not react, his eyes regarding her quietly.

"May I," Sarah began. She swallowed and began again. "May I come back to visit sometime?"

The King was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"The Labyrinth is not a playground, Sarah."

"I know," Sarah said desperately. "But please. Can't I come back and visit friends?"

The Goblin King raised an eyebrow.

"And you," Sarah added softly. "I-I'd like to talk to you again."

He studied her face for several moments, his face unreadable. The silence stretched on between them, until finally, he said, "Those from Aboveground may only come down here for a temporary period of time when they have either wished or been wished away."

"But maybe you could bring me-" Sarah began.

"I am not a ferryboat, Sarah," he said sharply, cutting her off. "Nor am I a dog, coming whenever it is called. And besides. The atmospheres between Aboveground and Underground are different from each other. One cannot live in both. You, having been down here twice, will already feel the difference when you return."

Sarah looked away from him, then said quietly, "I just wanted to come down here again. I-I love it here."

He did not speak until she looked back at him. "If you want to come down here again," he said quietly, "You must come down here permanently."

Sarah's eyes widened at the enormity of his statement, but she was prevented from saying anything further by the sound of the clock signaling the thirteenth hour. Immediately, the Goblin King took her by the arm. And in an instant, she was standing back in her apartment. She looked at him again as he released her am, eyes asking a million questions.

"Goodbye, Sarah," he said. And with a twirl of his cloak, he was gone. The tolling of the clock filled the next several seconds, and then Sarah was left standing alone in the living room of her apartment with heaviness in her heart, surrounded by silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Here's a special shout-out to my fabulous reviewers - you all rock! It seriously makes my day every time I read one of your comments. And those of you who are hanging on to every single chapter - you are making me laugh. I love you all :)<strong>

**Next chapter coming soon!**

**Wacky**


	10. The Contest

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 10: The Contest

The next morning didn't feel like a Sunday morning at all. Sarah lay in bed for a full hour and a half after her alarm woke her, staring at the wall in front of her. She felt . . . empty, somehow. Dull. The air wasn't as fulfilling. Colors weren't as vibrant. She inhaled deeply, trying to fill the void that she couldn't place. It didn't help.

Was this what the Goblin King had referred to when he had told her that she would feel the difference between Aboveground and Underground after she returned?

If so, she hated it. She felt less alive, somehow.

Eventually, Sarah got up. She showered and dressed, and then, gathering her thoughts, she went upstairs to Chris' apartment.

He flung the door open almost immediately after her knock. His eyes were wild, his hair disheveled. A long scratch ran down his cheek, and there was a large rip in his shirt, which he obviously hadn't changed since the night before. "Sarah," he gasped, and before she could move, she was being crushed in his arms.

"Oh Sarah, Sarah, Sarah," he murmured into her hair. She gently returned his embrace, then moved them both out of the doorway and into his apartment. He cupped her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes for a long moment, then kissed her mouth fervently.

"I'm so happy to see you, my love," he said when he had removed his mouth from hers, stepping back to look at her. "I had the worst dream last night that I had lost you."

Sarah felt a huge sinking feeling in her chest. "A dream?" she managed to say.

"Yes," he said. "The most horrible dream. It was so real - more real than any dream I've ever had in my entire life. I wished that you would go away, and you actually _did_ and I couldn't get you back." He embraced her again. "It was the worst nightmare I've ever had."

Sarah carefully extricated herself from his arms and stepped back to look at him, incredulous. "It wasn't a dream, Chris, it was real. You wished me away. You . . . you ran the Labyrinth, for goodness' sake!"

Chris' eyes widened. "You dreamed the same dream?"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Sarah exclaimed, angry now. "It was not a dream, Chris! Not a dream! It was _real_! You wished me away because you didn't believe me when I told you about Toby. You spent thirteen hours running the Labyrinth, trying to get me back!"

Chris frowned angrily at her. "Sarah, that's enough. It was absolutely not real. It was only a dream, and that's that. End of discussion." With that, he turned away from her and walked over to the kitchen, getting himself out a mug and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Sarah watched his back for a couple seconds. This could not be. Was this happiness? Where the person who was supposed to love her the most didn't believe something so important about her? The Labyrinth was not just something that could be pushed under the rug and ignored. The Labyrinth was real. The Labyrinth was important. Somehow, the Labyrinth was a part of her - integrated into her being so thoroughly that a person ignoring it or discrediting it would be simultaneously ignoring or discrediting Sarah herself. In a moment, Sarah made up her mind.

"Chris," she said, waiting for him to turn back to look at her. "It's over."

And with that, she walked out of his apartment for good.

o:o:o:o:o

Monday brought more bad news, as if the end of a years-long relationship wasn't enough of a downer for her. Her school district, faced with budget cuts from the state, was cutting funding to all of its schools. And the way that Sarah's school had decided to readjust their budget was to cut her Art class entirely.

Sarah's roommate Elaine had just finished straightening the apartment at 10:00 AM that morning when Sarah walked in, carrying a cardboard box full of supplies and items from her office at school.

"Sarah?" Elaine asked in disbelief. "What are you doing home so early?"

Sarah took one look at her and burst into tears. The remainder of the day was spent with Elaine on the sofa, snuggled up with blankets and cups of hot chocolate. The whole story was sobbed out onto Elaine's shoulder, and by eleven o'clock that night, Elaine knew everything. The first story of the Labyrinth, when Sarah had wished Toby away. The fight between Sarah and Chris the night before last. Sarah getting wished away, and her second time in the Labyrinth. The breakup yesterday morning. And finally, the loss of her job.

When everything had been talked about and re-talked about until there was nothing more to say, it was evening. The girls sat quietly on the sofa for several minutes. Several black-and-white movies lay on the floor below the TV, which was playing the credits to one of their old favorites. Empty mugs sat on the coffee table, along with half-eaten packages of cookies and bags of marshmallows.

Finally, Elaine spoke. "So what are you going to do now, Sarah?"

Sarah sighed. "I don't know. Find another job, hopefully. Though with the state cutting so much funding, it's going to be hard to find another school that needs an art teacher." She snorted. "Maybe I'll have to win the lottery, or win some silly contest to afford the rent."

Elaine sat up straight and gasped. "A contest!" She scrambled to untangle herself from the blankets on the sofa and went running into her room.

"Elaine?" Sarah called out after her. "What's going on?"

Elaine reappeared a minute later, a flyer clutched in her hand. "A contest, Sarah!" she said excitedly, thrusting the flyer into Sarah's hands. Sarah looked at it.

_The Art Society of Callett, MN  
>proudly presents<br>__**The 27**__**th**__** Annual Art Competition**_

_Enter your best piece of artwork and  
>you could win $10,000!<em>

Sarah opened the flyer. "The Art Society of Callett?" she said out loud. "As in _The_ Art Society of Callett? The biggest and wealthiest art society in the entire state?"

"Yes!" Elaine exclaimed. "A coworker handed me this flyer today and I thought of you! You could so enter this! I've seen your paintings before – you could totally win!"

"I don't know," Sarah said dubiously. "Most of my best paintings are back at home with Dad and Karen – I've been so busy focusing on my students that I haven't painted anything for myself since I don't know when."

"So paint something new," Elaine responded.

Sarah flipped through the flyer to look at the contest details. "Elaine," she said in disbelief, "The contest is next weekend. How on earth am I supposed to paint something good enough to enter in just six days?"

"Oh you can do it," said Elaine disparagingly. "Besides, not to be a total negative Nancy or anything, but you kinda have a lot of free time this week."

Sarah couldn't argue that one. No boyfriend and no job.

"Well," she said doubtfully, "I guess I could try."

"Oh goodie!" Elaine said happily. Then she looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. "Oh my gosh is it really almost midnight? I have to work tomorrow!" She popped up from her spot on the couch, took the mugs into the kitchen, and then hugged Sarah.

"Goodnight, Sarah. I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Love you!"

Sarah responded in turn, but did not go to bed. Even after Elaine had shut off the light in her room, Sarah stayed in the living room. After a while, she got up, cleaned up the movies and junk food, and folded the blankets. And then, she found herself standing by the window, staring up at the cloudless sky.

_What on earth could I possibly paint that will be good enough? _Sarah wondered. _It has to be something striking . . . something that the judges have never seen before_.

The stars were bright against an impossibly black sky. Not as bright, nor as striking as they were in the sky of the Underground, but Sarah could not deny that they were still beautiful. _I could paint the stars_, Sarah mused. _Not very original, but I could. Perhaps if I moved that one over a bit there, I could paint a constellation . . ._

_I move the stars for no one._

Sarah gasped. And in that moment, looking at the stars, she knew exactly what to paint.


	11. The Portrait

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 11: The Portrait

The next morning, Sarah went to the craft store and bought a canvas board, new brushes, and most of the store's small supply of oil paints. As soon as she got home, she went to work. She cleared the floor of her room to make room for her project, laying down newspaper and setting up the canvas board on an easel. She started with a light pencil outline, first. Outlining his head and shoulders, lightly sketching the faintest of lines to capture the set of his mouth, the furrows in his forehead, the shape of his eyes in that moment. The way he had looked at her.

"_I know," Sarah said desperately. "But please. Can't I come back and visit friends?"_

_The Goblin King raised an eyebrow._

"_And you," Sarah added softly. "I-I'd like to talk to you again."_

Sarah didn't think she would ever forget the way he had looked at her when she had said that. She still couldn't fully untangle it. Was he . . . hopeful? Disbelieving? Disappointed? Frustrated? Hopeless? About to say something? It was an impossible knot, and one that Sarah knew she would probably be unable to capture on a meager canvas. But she fully intended to try.

This was how Elaine found her that night – still in her room, empty tea mugs on her dresser and on the floor, paint smears on her jeans and shirt from where she had unconsciously wiped her fingers. Elaine walked over to the canvas.

"Who is that?" she asked, looking at the figure's outline.

Sarah put her brush down for a moment, then looked at her roommate, excitement in her eyes. "This is the Goblin King," she said.

Elaine's eyes widened. "Oh," she said. There wasn't much there yet, so Elaine was completely unable to determine what he looked like. Only that he seemed to have a rather eclectic hairdo.

Sarah resumed painting for another minute or two, and then Elaine spoke. "I brought takeout home. Have you eaten today?"

Sarah shook her head.

"Come take a break then," said Elaine. "You need to eat."

Dinner passed by quickly, and Sarah was soon back in her room, painting again. This pattern continued all week. She painted all day every day, with short breaks only to get food or clean herself up. As the days progressed, the Goblin King's likeness took form. The black jacket, with its slightly-higher-than-a-human-coat's collar and shades of iridescent blue glinting in the folds. The soft white folds of his poet's shirt against his pale skin, curving gently over his collarbones. The firm sweep of his jawline, the strong set of his nose. The platinum-blonde locks of his hair – some long, some short, all impossibly straight. The hints of purpley-blue among them. The faint background of a night sky, with a star here and there. The light coming from the right – from what other viewers would not know was light from the open door of the castle.

Sarah saved his eyes for last, putting them off. But finally, the night before her painting was to be entered into the contest, she had nothing else left. So with trepidation, she dipped her brush in the paint and began. First, the sweeping white shades above his eyelids. Second, the darker skin that curved up from the edge of his eyes and around the white lids to meet the black lines of his eyebrows that curled up at the tips to form a point. And then, his eyes.

She spent a full hour and a half on his eyes, mixing paints to make the exact shade of blue and using the blackest of her black paints for his pupils. Then she lowlighted them with other colors. A very deep indigo, a subtle forest green. And at 6:42 PM on Friday night, she sat back on her stool and studied her painting. It was an impeccable likeness - one that any artist would be proud of. But something was wrong. Something was off. Sarah studied him for a moment, then once again dipped her brush in her blackest of black paints and touched her brush to the canvas to widen the pupil of his left eye. Then she leaned back again and gasped.

The Goblin King looked back at her from the canvas almost exactly as he had looked at her when she had said those tremulous words in front of the castle. _I-I'd like to talk to you again._

No artist on the face of the earth would have been able to recapture his face the way Sarah had seen it, but somehow, Sarah had almost managed to convey the perfect knot of thoughts that didn't play out across his face – only his enigmatic eyes betraying that there was a highway of emotions running underneath. Nobody would be able to tell the difference between the portrait and the real thing but Sarah.

Sarah exhaled slowly. As a final touch, she signed her initials in the corner of the canvas. Then, she gathered up the empty tea mugs and her brushes, and went into the kitchen. She had just finished cleaning her supplies when Elaine came home.

"Sarah!" Elaine exclaimed. "Are you done?"

"Yes," Sarah replied.

"Well, can I see it?" Elaine asked impatiently. Sarah had not let Elaine into her room since the beginning of the week, when she had told Elaine that she was painting the Goblin King.

Sarah led Elaine into her room, and felt a small rush of pride when Elaine also gasped upon seeing the King's face. But what Elaine said next was not something Sarah ever could have been prepared for.

"Oh my gosh . . . you're in love with him," Elaine said in awe, turning to look at her.

"What?" Sarah exclaimed. "Don't be ridiculous."

_Don't be ridiculous._

Sarah blushed. "I couldn't be. I hardly know him. That's impossible."

A small smile crept onto Elaine's face, and she took Sarah by the hand and led her to the bed to sit down. Elaine pulled her legs onto the bed, Indian style, and turned Sarah's head to look into her eyes.

"Sarah," she said. "Look into yourself. See what I see."

Sarah blushed again. "That's impossible, Elaine. You're speaking nonsense. I can't be in love with him! I mean . . . I've barely spoken with him, and have seen him less than twenty-four hours of my entire life. I mean, I just broke up with Chris, who I've dated for _years_. I haven't thought about this guy since I was what, fifteen, sixteen years old? It's preposterous!"

Elaine was not to be deterred. "Sarah," she said softly. "Love doesn't always work in a way that makes sense to us. Especially in the Labyrinth, from what you've told me. Things aren't always what they seem in that place, right? I'll bet that love doesn't work the same way there either. Sometimes, you don't need loads and loads of time to get to know someone. Sometimes, you just know." She looked back at the painting. "And I'd say that he knows, too."

For a couple moments, Sarah couldn't think of anything to say, and, drawing up her knees, rested her chin on them. Elaine's words brought to Sarah's mind the Statute of Finality that Hoggle had told her about. _Sometimes, you just know._ Sarah closed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Elaine asked gently.

"Even if what you said was true, it doesn't matter," Sarah said quietly. "I'll never see him again."

"Never?" asked Elaine, aghast.

"Well, I could," Sarah said doubtfully, opening her eyes to look at Elaine. "But I'd have to go Underground and never return. An all-or-nothing kind of deal." She shook her head. "I couldn't do that. I couldn't just leave everyone here. Dad and Karen and Toby and Helen and you . . . no, I can't leave. I belong here. Aboveground. I'll never see him again."

But the thought of never seeing him again sent a pang of pain through her heart – not too much unlike the twinges she had felt when he had told her not to be ridiculous and then left her to walk down from the castle tower by herself, albeit much stronger and utterly impossible to ignore. Sarah lowered her head onto her knees again and closed her eyes, fighting the pain inside.

"Go to sleep early tonight," Elaine said softly, patting her legs. "You've been working hard all week long and you have a big day tomorrow."

Sarah did as Elaine said. But even after she had turned out the light and closed her eyes, she could not shut out the image of the Goblin King's eyes that she had painted on her canvas. Was she really in love with him? The idea was ludicrous. And yet, it made sense, somehow. But that begged the next question.

What should she do now?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: You have all been so awesome that I couldn't help but update early again. Hooray! And guess what else? Chapter 15 is the last chapter, meaning that there are only four additional chapters left for me to post! We're almost done! Exciting, but at the same time sad, since it means that my journey with this story is almost over. <strong>

**I would like to address one thing that began to alarm me somewhat - many reviewers began to express an intense dislike of Chris, or held with the idea that he was a bad guy. I would like to stress that Chris is not a bad person. He really isn't. He's just a very traditional, logical thinker, and his mind rejects the concept of another world existing outside of Earth (and any kind of magic as well). That's why he and Sarah broke up - their thought processes and the things that were important to them were just too different to make their relationship work. He's not a bad guy, though, and I'm sure he was devastated when Sarah ended it. I really hope that he finds a nice girl to spend the rest of his life with!**

**May your socks always be wacky,**

**Wackysocks**


	12. I Wish

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 12: I Wish

Sarah couldn't eat breakfast the next morning. Adrenaline started pumping through her system the minute she woke up, and by the time she and Elaine had loaded her painting into Elaine's car and set off for the contest, she was too jittery to hold her tea.

"Calm down," Elaine said as Sarah wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans for the fifth time that morning. "You're going to do fine! And if you don't win, at least you tried, right?" Sarah nodded weakly and willed herself to calm down.

She had almost gotten her nerves to settle down when Elaine pulled into the headquarters of the Callett Art Society and they all started racing again. In what seemed like no time at all, she and Elaine had brought the painting in, entered it, and set it up in the section marked off for her age category. The only hiccup had come when the man registering her painting had asked her what the title was. In all of her concentration on painting the Goblin King, she had completely forgotten to give the painting a name.

"Uhhh . . . ummm . . . I wish," Sarah stuttered. The man wrote "I Wish" on a piece of paper along with Sarah's name, age, hometown, and job title (_Art Teacher_ – Sarah wasn't about to broadcast to the most prestigious art society in the state that she was unemployed), and tacked it to the bottom of the easel that held her painting. Elaine raised an eyebrow when she saw the title that Sarah chose, but said nothing.

For the next several hours, while the judges deliberated on the various paintings in each age category, Sarah and Elaine walked around and looked at the other entries. The building was huge, and whenever Sarah and Elaine turned a corner, it seemed as if another large room full of paintings and drawings and sketches waited for them. Fields of yellow flowers. Little girls playing in the sand on a beach. A boy throwing a Frisbee with his dog. A newly-married couple, frozen in the moment before their lips touched for their first kiss.

"This is ridiculous," Sarah muttered to Elaine after they had passed by a startlingly lifelike charcoal sketch of an old grandmother and her granddaughter. "I don't know why you ever thought I would win this. Every entry here is so good."

"Oh shush," Elaine said disparagingly. "Have more faith in yourself. You're better than you give yourself credit for."

Several hours later, all of the contestants were called into a large auditorium for the announcement of the winners. Sarah clapped along with the other occupants in the room as artist after artist was called forward from various age categories to win third, second, and first prizes. Her age category was announced and then passed, and when the judges had announced the final winner, she looked at Elaine and whispered, "I told you so." Elaine looked so genuinely disappointed that Sarah couldn't help but feel bad for her. Elaine had always believed in her so much. More than Sarah had ever believed in herself.

"And that concludes our third, second, and first place winners," said the head judge. "As members and honorary judges of the Callett Art Society, I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that we have seen an incredible amount of talent here tonight!"

The auditorium rang with applause for several seconds before the judge spoke again. "And now, I would like to present our three grand prize winners!"

The audience broke into excited whispering.

"Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking," beamed the judge. "Usually, we choose one winner from all of the artwork entries to receive our grand prize. But this year, we just couldn't make up our minds. And so, ladies and gentlemen, this year we have not one, not two, but _three _grand prize winners!"

The audience clapped again.

A photo of the charcoal sketch of the grandmother and her granddaughter that Sarah had admired earlier was projected onto the screen behind the judge as she made the first announcement. "Our first grand prize winner is _Memories_, a charcoal on paper sketch by Johann Summers, a student from the University of Washington in Seattle!" The auditorium rang with applause. "This beautifully catches the bond of love between his grandmother and youngest sister. Congratulations, Johann!" As she spoke, a young man with sandy blonde hair stepped up onto the stage to shake her hand, receive a large blue ribbon and an envelope, and stand off to the side.

And then, the screen behind the judge was filled with the Goblin King's face, eyes piercing straight through Sarah as the judge announced her. "Our second grand prize winner is _I Wish_, an oil on canvas painting by Sarah Williams, an art teacher from Royal Heights, Minnesota!" The audience applauded, as Sarah, dazed, got to her feet and walked to the stage. "Don't you just feel like those eyes look straight through you? Wonderful job capturing that emotion, Sarah! I wish I knew what he was thinking!"

Sarah barely heard the judge's congratulations or the announcement of the third grand prize winner. _I wish I did, too_, Sarah thought. _I can't believe it. I won. __He__ won._

When all the announcements were over and the occupants of the auditorium were released to look at all the art entries for one last time, Sarah was almost knocked over by an extremely elated Elaine. "Ohhh Sarah I _knew_ it! I just _knew_ you would win!"

"I can't believe it," Sarah said, still in disbelief at the large blue ribbon and envelope containing her winnings that she held in her hands. "He did it. He won." Elaine just looked at her knowingly and hugged her again.

Several hours later, they were finally home again. Elaine insisted on setting up the easel with the painting of the Goblin King on it in the middle of the living room until they could hang it up, the sheet containing Sarah's entry information and the large blue grand prize winner ribbon still tacked onto the side. She helped Sarah set it up, then left again almost immediately to go out to dinner with Pete.

Sarah sat on the couch and looked at her painting as it grew dark outside. _I think Elaine might be right_, she thought. _I might be in love with you. It's crazy, it's impossible, it's absolutely ridiculous. And I think it might be true. _

She got up and made herself some dinner and a mug of tea, then sat down to look at the painting again. The very idea of living with only his picture in her life hurt. It hurt in a way that made no sense at all, as Sarah didn't entirely know what all she was missing out on. And then, after she had eaten her last mouthful and swallowed the last of her tea, she gave herself over to the idea of returning to the Underground . . . for good.

It was like this that Elaine found her when she returned several hours later – staring off into space with a smile on her face.

"Saarrraaahhh!" Elaine shrieked excitedly, throwing her purse on a side-table and jumping onto the couch next to her, startling Sarah out of her reverie. Elaine stuck her left hand out and squealed, "Pete proposed! Look at my ring! Aaahhhhhhh I'm getting MARRIED!"

Sarah demanded that Elaine share every detail with her, and oohed and aahed over the ring with her for a full hour before Elaine excused herself for bed, still giggling as she shut the door.

Sarah stood up from the couch, her mind made up. Elaine's engagement had done for her what nothing else could. Elaine had said yes – had found the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And when Sarah thought about who she wanted to spend the rest of her own life with, it wasn't with someone Aboveground, where the air still couldn't quite fill her lungs all the way and where the stars didn't burn quite as brightly in the night sky.

Yes, she would miss her family. She would miss them for sure. But life was so fleeting, and the heartbreak it promised if she chose to remain Above was too much greater than the heartbreak she would feel if she left her family behind.

"I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away, right now," she said clearly to the empty room.

Nothing happened for several long seconds. Just as Sarah was wondering if she was wrong to say "Goblin King" and not "goblins," and thinking she might have to say it again, she heard a voice behind her.

"Do you realize what you've done?"


	13. The Choice

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 13: The Choice

Sarah smiled. She turned, and her eyes rejoiced to see him standing there in his high-collared black robes, looking out of place in her small apartment. His arms were folded across his chest, and the piercing eyes that looked at her were full of severe disapproval.

"I told you that it was quite impossible to visit the Underground again, Sarah," he said coldly. "I wasn't kidding."

Sarah smiled still. "I know," she said. "I just . . . something happened."

He scoffed at her. "Something happened? That's all you have to say? What could _possibly_ happen in your trivial life to make you do what you have just done? Do you even realize the implications of what you just said? Truly?"

Sarah pointed at the painting behind her, and watched his eyes flick over her shoulder and then widen almost imperceptibly as he saw the image of himself as she had captured it on the canvas. He walked across the room to stand before her painting, looking at it with an unreadable expression on his face.

A full minute went by as the Goblin King studied her painting. Finally, he turned to look at her, the expression on his face mirroring the one she had tried to recreate on the canvas.

_Here goes. _Sarah took a deep breath. "I love you," she said.

His eyes widened a little more, but he said nothing still. The silence was fraught with tension.

"I broke up with Chris," she started, her breath hitching in her throat. "Then Elaine, my roommate, that is, had me enter this art contest and I painted you . . . and that's when I realized it. Or rather, that she realized it. And then she got engaged and she's spending the rest of her life with the love of her life . . ."

She paused to take a breath. He hadn't moved since she had started speaking.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Sarah said quietly. "Underground."

The King didn't react for a minute. Then, slowly, he smiled. A breathtaking, beautiful smile, with no traces of malice in his eyes. He opened his arms, and Sarah stepped into them, burying her head in his chest. He smelled fresh and full and satisfying, like the air in the Underground. His embrace was warm. Sarah had never felt as safe in a person's arms as she did in his, right here, right now. His hand stroked her hair twice and then stilled.

"Well," he said finally, "I'm afraid you have no choice now."

Sarah looked up at him, smiling.

He smiled back at her, then inclined his head toward the kitchen. "Go and get yourself something to eat," he said.

Sarah's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Wha-" she began.

"Just do it," he said, interrupting her. "You'll see why."

Sarah walked to the kitchen and grabbed the first thing that she saw – an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. She walked back into the living room.

"Now sit down on the couch and take a bite," instructed the King. "And when I offer you my hand, take it."

Sarah nodded, sat down, and took a bite, not taking her eyes off the Goblin King. A couple chews into her mouthful, he extended his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled.

What happened next was not something Sarah had ever felt before. She felt a severe shock, and a wave of pain shot down her spine as she rose to her feet. Lights exploded in her eyes . . . and then everything was clear. She turned around to look back at the couch, and received another shock to see herself still sitting there, eating her apple.

"What the-" she began, and then the words died in her throat as the Sarah on the couch began to choke. The couch-Sarah grabbed her throat, coughing and spluttering, the apple falling from her hand onto the floor. She gagged and gasped, trying to get air. Her face turned red, then purple, then blue. And fifteen seconds later, her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped sideways onto the pillows of the couch, one of her arms falling off to land beside the bitten apple on the floor.

Sarah felt frozen, staring at the image of herself on the couch. "What . . . what was that?" she exhaled.

"An explanation," he said.

"But Elaine . . ." Sarah said. "Elaine will think I'm dead! That I died!"

"That is the general intent," he replied.

Sarah whirled to look at him. "No! But she was the one who helped me realize this! She'll be so heartbroken . . ." her voice trailed off, still shocked.

The King regarded her for a moment, then looked down. He clasped his hands together, then pulled them apart, his fingers pulling a red rose out of thin air. When the rose had fully materialized, he walked over to her painting and set it on the easel next to the blue grand prize ribbon. It was an otherworldly rose - its petals a lush dark red, with crystalline dewdrops clinging to them that Sarah somehow knew would never go away.

"Better?" he asked, looking at her.

Sarah nodded, then looked up at him. "One moment," she said, walking to her room. First, she made her bed, which she had been too flustered to make that morning in anticipation of the art contest. Then she hung up her jacket and straightened her dresser. Somehow, it seemed improper to leave her room messy when she knew that she would never return to it. Walking to the door, she gave her room a final look, and then walked into Elaine's room.

Elaine lay in bed, eyes closed in sleep. Her hand rested on the bedspread, the ring on her finger glinting in the ray of moonlight that illuminated it. Sarah walked over to her and looked down at her sleeping friend.

"Goodbye, Elaine," she whispered. "Your friendship was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I'll miss you so much."

Sarah's eyes wandered to the picture on Elaine's bedside table – the two of them with Pete and Chris out to dinner for Elaine's last birthday. Sarah's eyes prickled.

"I'm gone now," she whispered. "I'll never see you again. I'll be reported as dead. But you'll know, won't you? You'll know."

And with a last affectionate look, Sarah walked out of Elaine's room and back into the living room, where the Goblin King waited for her.

"Finished?" he asked her.

"Yes," said Sarah. He took her hand, and with his other hand, took the edge of his cloak and swirled it around her. Sarah felt the air shift, and a twinge of pain shot down her spine again.

A split second later, she felt stone underneath her feet, and the King pulled his cloak away to reveal that they were once again in the throne room. She looked around, and at the sight of her, the goblins cheered and hopped about in joy. She smiled at them.

Another stab of pain shot through her, stronger this time. She looked up at the Goblin King again, worry on her face. "What's – ohhh," she said, closing her eyes as another stab of pain hit her. And another. And then, her legs gave way.

The King caught her before she hit the floor.


	14. The Change

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 14: The Change

Sarah felt the pressure of arms holding her bridal style. The King's face was above hers, and he was looking straight out. The sway that Sarah felt could only be the motion of movement. Which meant that the King was carrying her. Taking her somewhere. Where? Sarah didn't know where. She was having difficulty keeping her eyes focused, and swirling colors of white and yellow and green were encroaching on the edges of her vision.

"Whasss hap'nnn," she slurred.

The King looked down and his eyes met hers. "Your body is dying, Sarah. As a human, you have been down here for too many hours, and you cannot handle it. But don't worry. We'll fix that." He looked ahead again, and Sarah leaned her head on his chest and focused on keeping the cries of pain from bursting out of her throat as pain repeatedly shot through her body.

The air that was once so fulfilling and full of vibrant life was now choking her. Heavy and thick and with the consistency of dry cotton, it burned her mouth and hurt her lungs. Her body twinged and spasmed here and there and everywhere. Everything just _hurt_. And it was all happening so fast. Just minutes ago, she had been smiling with the Goblin King in her apartment. Telling him that she loved him. And now, it was as if her body was rejecting the very air it needed to sustain itself.

Sarah closed her eyes and tried to keep her mind focused. The steady, rhythmic sway of the King's gait. The pressure of his arms holding her at her knees and back. The feel of his shirt and chest against her cheek. These were real. These were safe.

After another minute, she felt the Goblin King set her down on something soft – a bed. People in white robes that she had never seen before closed in around her and the King stepped back, though his eyes never left hers.

Her hair was brushed back from her face, her socks and shoes were pulled off, and her jeans and shirt were cut away from her body, leaving her only in her white tank top and underwear. The covers of the bed were pulled back and her legs were swept under them. Just as quickly, she was propped up to a sitting position on pillows, and the people in the white robes stepped back from her.

The Goblin King sat next to her on the bed, holding a goblet of dark red liquid. He placed it in her hands, cupping his hands around hers, helping her hold it. "Drink this, Sarah," he said calmly.

"Wha-, wha-" Sarah managed.

"This is what will enable you to stay here," he said. "You will die if you don't drink this."

He helped her raise it to her lips, and held it there while Sarah drank. It tasted like some kind of strange berry – dark and earthy and tangy in flavor. He took the goblet away when she finished, and Sarah wiped away a droplet of the drink that had escaped her mouth to run down her chin. Nothing happened for a few moments, and then . . .

"Ohhhh," Sarah cried out. A flash of heat raced through her body and into her head. The colors on the edges of her vision intensified and encroached even further, distorting his face. Her head lolled, and she could fell hands pulling her from her sitting position to a reclining one.

Sarah could barely make out his face now. He was still looking at her, but his face was warped – pulled in all different directions by waves of red and white and orange. She felt him take her hand, and tried to focus on his eyes.

"Donnnn leafff," she begged. "Donnn – aahhhhh!" And she cried out from the pain the heat.

"I won't leave you," he said quietly. "I will never leave you."

And Sarah succumbed to the colors, to the heat, to the pain. A vortex of sensation that pulled her this way and that way and all different ways until she could no longer tell who, or what, she was.

o:o:o:o:o

When Sarah woke, it was dark in the room. A dusky kind of dark – not like nighttime, but like the twilight she had woken up to after her dream of the room with the stairs. Sensation returned to her slowly – first the feel of her heart beating slowly and steadily within her chest, then her legs tangled up in the sheets, and finally her hands and head, which was resting on something not as soft as a pillow.

Something that was moving with the rise and fall of breathing.

Sarah moved her head slightly and looked at the black cloth beneath her fingers, registered the warmth, and then looked up.

The Goblin King looked down at her, his face as haughtily impassive ever, though a little softer.

Sarah just looked back at him, forcing him to be the first one to speak. He waited for a full minute before saying anything.

"Good evening," he said softly. Sarah just blinked.

"How are you feeling?"

Sarah looked back down at her left hand, which rested on his stomach. "Alright," she slowly.

More silence.

"Can you sit up?" he asked.

Sarah sat up slowly, stretching her limbs and moving slowly, waiting for pain. None came.

When she was fully sitting up, she turned to look back at him. He was still reclining against the back of the bed, on the pillows that had been pulled away from her after she had drank the contents of the goblet, Sarah now saw.

"How long have I – what happened?" Sarah asked, a million questions forming in her mind.

He gave her a small smile. "You drank the potion. It changed your body. You are now acclimated to the Underground."

Sarah's eyes widened, and he smiled a little wider. "Welcome to your new home, Sarah." Then in one swift movement, he got up from the bed and walked around it to the door.

"I'll send some food up for you," he said. "You'll be very tired again rather shortly. Sleep well – you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

Sarah gazed after him, questions rising to her throat and sticking there. He smiled softly. "Goodnight, Sarah."

Food came to her shortly after he closed the door. The people in the white robes brought it on a silver tray, and Sarah ate quietly, watching them as they straightened the pillows and conversed with each other in an unfamiliar language. The King was right – she quickly became tired, and almost as soon as she finished eating, the tray was taken from her and she fell asleep again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I know, I know - this chapter is shorter than the other ones. But I just needed a small transition . . . because the next chapter is the longest one yet by far, and is also our grand finale!<strong>

**Coming soon! Get excited!**

**Wacky**


	15. As The World Falls Down

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any of its characters – all are the property of Jim Henson, et. al. The song _As The World Falls Down_ belongs to David Bowie.

**Falling in Love**

by Wackysocks

Chapter 15: As The World Falls Down

The next morning, Sarah awoke feeling refreshed and alive. The room was empty, so she cautiously got up from the bed and stretched her limbs. She still wore the white tank top and underwear from Aboveground. They felt scratchy and uncomfortable on her skin, not soft like they used to. Just as she began to wonder what to wear, she saw a beautiful, dark red dress laid out on a chair. Underclothes and shoes also lay there, and next to the chair on a small table sat a small crystal.

Sarah smiled. She took her time dressing, brushing her hair and examining her face in the mirror. Her features were sharper, her eyes a deeper green than they had been Aboveground. Her skin was smoother - any scars or imperfections had been smoothed away. And her muscles were more toned. In short, her new body was beautiful. But still entirely her.

When she had finally finished, she took the crystal in her hands and, cupping her hands around it, blew softly. The shimmer of magic didn't feel nearly as powerful this time, and Sarah was able to watch the colors shift and rematerialize into the throne room without feeling disoriented. She looked up at the Goblin King lounging on his throne and smiled. He smiled back at her.

"Good morning, Sarah. Are you hungry?"

She nodded. He got down from the throne, took her hand, and led her into a dining room that she had never seen before. One end of the long table was already laden with breakfast food – small pancakes and juices and an array of fruits that Sarah had never seen before. She tried pieces of everything, wondering in their unfamiliar tastes.

As they ate, the Goblin King reminded her of the big day he had told her about the night before.

"Tonight," he said as they ate, "We will be going to my father's court."

Sarah stopped eating and looked up at him, her eyes wide.

He flicked his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. You will just be presented to the court as the newest member of the Underground. And as my betrothed."

Sarah felt a smile creep up onto her face, and she blushed.

He smirked a little at her blush. "Think of it as a small party."

Sarah nodded.

"We will not be leaving here until five o'clock this evening," the King said, indicating the clock on the wall. Sarah noted its thirteen hours with a small smile and looked back at him.

"I assumed that you would like to visit your friends this afternoon. I have taken the liberty of setting up a system of crystals for you until you can conjure them yourself. Here is the first."

Sarah took the crystal from him. "Until I can conjure them myself?" she asked, bewildered.

He nodded. "You are an immortal now, and about to become royalty. You have a lot to learn. Your own magical arts are only a small part of that."

Sarah's eyes widened and she looked down at the crystal he had handed her. "Wow," she breathed. "My own crystals."

He let out a soft laugh and stood up. She copied him.

"Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you will be pulled back to the castle before we need to leave. Understood?"

She nodded at him. He turned to go, then turned back again, a half-smile playing on his lips. "Oh and Sarah," he said. "You should probably wear this."

He extended his hand, and pinched between his thumb and index finger was a beautiful silver ring, set with a sparkling black stone.

Sarah inhaled softly and took the ring from him, studying it. It was etched with a pattern of stars all over the band. She looked back up at him. "It's beautiful," she exhaled.

He smiled a little wider. "I'm glad you like it. I shall see you later." And with that, he turned to walk away.

"Wait," Sarah said. He turned back to her and lifted an eyebrow.

"I was . . . I mean, agh," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. He smiled at her, waiting.

"What should I call you?" asked Sarah softly, a blush rising to her cheeks again.

This brought one of his rarer wide smiles to his face, and he tilted his head before saying, "I think you should probably call me Jareth." And with that, he walked away until he disappeared into the air.

_Jareth_, Sarah thought to herself. She looked back down at the ring, and with a wide smile on her face, put it on the fourth finger of her left hand. It fit perfectly, of course, and Sarah took a moment or two to examine the way that the black stone sparkled in the light. Then she took the crystal in her hands and softly blew, letting the magic take her away.

o:o:o:o:o

The first crystal took her to Hoggle's hut, where Sir Didymus, Ambrosious, and Ludo were all waiting. They were so overjoyed to see her that it was several minutes before she could speak. They exclaimed over her transformation and gasped at the ring on her hand.

"Stars, my lady?" Sir Didymus asked in puzzlement.

Sarah just smiled and nodded, not wishing to explain their special meaning to anyone else.

"Staaawwssss," Ludo said. Sarah hugged him, feeling as if her happiness could not possibly increase.

But it could. The next crystal took her straight into Ogden and Innette's little burrow, where she once again couldn't get a word in around their cries of excitement for several minutes. Innette was at first extremely worried at the news of Sarah's betrothal, but after Ogden pointed out the ring and the way that Sarah's eyes were shining, Innette gushed and exclaimed as much as Elaine would have, had she been there.

The third crystal took her to a place Sarah had never been before – a small house in the outskirts of the Goblin City. But once Sarah saw the occupants, she knew why Jareth had sent her there.

An entire family of little fuzzy black goblins, all with beaks and whiskers, cheeped and peeped their gladness at her arrival. And Cheep, the little one that Sarah had drawn the likeness of in the throne room, sat on her lap for the entire duration of Sarah's visit, cheeping and peeping and listening as Sarah talked to them all.

Sarah could hardly believe it when she felt the telltale feeling of magic in her spine. She said her goodbyes to the family, and seconds later, arrived in the room she had woken up in that morning. Three young girls waited by a vanity table, and when Sarah materialized in the room, burst out chattering in their unfamiliar language, pulling Sarah down to sit in a chair before the mirror.

One of them twisted and pulled at her hair, braiding tiny delicate braids that disappeared into wavy curls that another one of them curled into her hair. The other one puffed and powdered Sarah's face, painting around her eyes and swiping something here and there. Then they pulled Sarah to her feet. Before she could protest, they had unlaced her dress and pulled it off her. And just as quickly, laced her into a new one. It was a finer one – a dark forest green with a scooped collar that was lined with a thin line of what Sarah guessed were the Labyrinth's equivalent of tiny diamonds.

When they finally stepped back from their work, Sarah smiled at her reflection. Her features were even sharper than before, and her deep green eyes stood out from her face. Her hair was half pulled back, the soft curls almost-but-not-quite hiding tiny little braids that ended in more of the little diamonds.

She thanked them, and they smiled beatifically at her before handing her another crystal, which transported Sarah back to the throne room.

Jareth was waiting for here there, dressed in robes that Sarah recognized as similar to the ones he wore in that dream to make her forget about Toby so long ago. Cream-colored leggings and a shirt of the same color, with a white scarf wrapped around his throat that was held in place with a dazzling broach of sparkling black stones. The coat he wore was also bejeweled, though it was black this time and not navy blue. The black stones on his coat shimmered with hints of iridescent blue. He smiled at her as she materialized. "Beautiful," he said. "But it needs one final touch . . ."

And he produced a silver necklace with a pendent of a crescent moon, which he clasped around her neck. Sarah smiled at him in thanks, and then took his arm as he swirled his cloak around her. A split second later, they materialized in front of a larger castle, which was lit up with lights and the sound of hundreds of voices. Jareth took her hand and led her to a small door off to the side, and Sarah followed him as they climbed a small spiral staircase.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"In the back way," he said. "We have to make an entrance."

Sarah's eyes widened, and she slowed her pace.

He looked at her scared face, and said disparagingly, "It's nothing. Just follow my lead and smile. You'll be fine."

Sarah had no choice but to trust him. Not a minute later, they were standing in a hallway before a grand set of double doors. The sound of voices was loud on the other side.

"This is it," Jareth said to her. "Remember. Smile. Wave. And hey."

She looked up at him to see him smiling his carefree smile. "It's a piece of cake."

She smiled nervously back at him, then heard a voice from the other side of the doors.

"_Announcing His Majesty, King Jareth, and His Betrothed, Princess Sarah!"_

Voices cheered, and Sarah barely had time to think _Princess?_ before the doors swung open to reveal a grand staircase leading down to a dance floor, a banquet table laden with food, and a dais that held two grand thrones. The entire room was filled with people, all looking at them and clapping.

Jareth moved forward, and Sarah followed his lead, remembering just in time to smile and wave her hand, causing the black stone in her ring to sparkle and flash in the many lights of the room.

Before she knew it, they had reached the foot of the staircase, and they were being congratulated. Women converged around her, introducing themselves and telling her how delighted they were to meet her. After eleven new names, Sarah lost track of who was who, and just nodded and smiled at them as they continued to introduce themselves and chatter on, complimenting her dress, her ring, and every little thing about the way she looked.

Just when she thought the women might stifle her, Sarah felt Jareth's hand pulling her away from them. When the women she had been talking to were out of sight, Sarah turned to look up at him.

"Jareth," she hissed somewhat angrily.

"What?" he asked softly, smiling at her first usage of his given name.

"This isn't some small party, this is huge!" Sarah hissed again. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"My dear Sarah, think about it. You would have been in a highly agitated state of mind all day if I had told you that my parents were throwing you an Engagement Party, which would have done nothing to help you."

_Darn it, why does he always have to be right? _Sarah thought, consciously trying to control her face so he wouldn't see the outcome of his words.

In the next moment, she realized that Jareth had led them out onto the dance floor. The announcer announced them again, and music began to play. She looked up at Jareth, eyes panicked, and whispered "I can't dance!"

He smiled haughtily down at her. "Yes you can, Sarah. You've danced with me to this song before."

And sure enough, the familiar melody of the haunting love song filled the air. And Sarah's feet moved along with his in a way that she didn't know she knew. She looked up at him, smiling into his face as he began to sing the words to her. Softly, his lips barely moving, so that only she could hear them.

_There's such a sad love  
>Deep in your eyes<br>A kind of pale jewel  
>Open and closed<br>Within your eyes  
>I'll place the sky<br>Within your eyes_

Oh, how she loved him. She could feel it swell within her to chest – swell from the hesitant, unsure state of yesterday to full-fledged and bursting and manifesting itself in an awestruck smile on her face. How very much she loved him.

_There's such a fooled heart  
>Beating so fast<br>In search of new dreams  
>A love that will last<br>Within your heart  
>I'll place the moon<br>Within your heart_

As he swirled her around the dance floor, couples slowly started to join them.

_As the pain sweeps through  
>Makes no sense for you<br>Every thrill is gone  
>Wasn't too much fun at all<br>But I'll be there for you-ou-ou  
>As the world falls down.<em>

It was the beginning of forever, Sarah thought. Forever with this man, who sang to her softly with a half-smile on his lips. Forever with this man, who she knew she loved even though she barely knew him. _But then again, _she thought wryly, _I have forever to learn._

_I'll paint you mornings of gold  
>I'll spin you Valentine evenings<br>Though we're strangers 'til now  
>We're choosing the path<br>Between the stars  
>I'll leave my love<br>Between the stars_

_As the pain sweeps through  
>Makes no sense for you<br>Every thrill is gone  
>Wasn't too much fun at all<br>But I'll be there for you-ou-ou  
>As the world falls down.<em>

The other occupants of the room exclaimed to each other at the young couple on the dance floor. The handsome king whose heart had finally been won over and the young woman who so clearly adored him. And before the song ended, they were already talking about the wedding to come which would surely be the greatest event the Underground had seen in centuries. But none of their speculations touched the two who danced in each others' arms

The king, whose face smiled as he sang to her, and the woman, whose face smiled wider as she mouthed _I love you_ up to him.

_Falling  
>Falling down<br>Falling in love._

thEnd

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Ohhh, it's the end! So bittersweet for me. I'd like to say a big thank you to every single person who has read and reviewed my story - you've all made this the best experience that I've ever had writing fanfiction. You guys rock so much!<strong>

**And I'd like to give a special shout-out to Nanenna, JHaines, Trelweny Rosephoenixwolf, Shahrezad1, and DefyMe for consistently reviewing my story as I updated. You all put so much thought and wondeful constructive criticism into your reviews - you really made me think about what I was writing, what the characters were thinking and going through, and how they would truly react in their respective situations. You guys are so wonderful!**

**Lastly, I'm toying with the idea of writing a sequel. It would be about the time between the end of this story and their wedding. Sarah would have a new challenge to face, and I'd like to explore the rest of the Underground, since I am convinced that the Labyrinth is not all of it. It would also explore what the other members of Jareth's family are like. It would be a lot more of my personal opinions and thoughts, seeing as the movie never covers anything farther than Toby's return and never mentions anything else about the Underground, but I think it could be good. Thoughts?**

**Once again, thank you all! Cheers!**

**Wackysocks**


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